Intertwined
by Scealai
Summary: Willow turns to Angel and the AI team for help when she's attacked by VampWillow and there are strange consequences. Old story - Season 2 of Ats and 5 of BTVS
1. Chapter One

Title: Intertwined  
Author: T. C.  
Rating: R  
Pairing: Willow/Angel  
Synopsis: Angel works to help Willow with a strange problem.  
Disclaimer: Willow and Angel and other BTVS characters mentioned or  
portrayed belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, and  
Twentieth Century Fox, but not me.  
Spoilers: Always possible that I might mention things that have   
happened if I think it pertains to my storyline. Season 5  
and 2 are fair game.  
***********************************************************************  
Part One  
  
Help. She needed help. Willow stumbled through the slick streets of  
Los Angeles, hoping that she could find the hotel. Angel was there.  
Angel could help her. Willow slipped on the wet concrete of the   
sidewalk and bit her bottom lip hard. Blood welled in her mouth and   
she sucked greedily at the wound. Tears and the rain obscured her   
vision so Willow stopped to wipe at her eyes. She needed to get a   
grip. She had no idea how she had even gotten this far. She only   
hoped she hadn't hurt someone.  
  
Willow resumed her journey. If she hadn't gotten lost then she should  
almost be there. Please let her almost be there. She turned the  
corner and there it was. The Hyperion.  
  
*****  
  
It was actually a quiet night. Angel and Wesley sat comfortably   
across from each other with their feet up on the coffee table, reading  
books that weren't about demons. Cordelia sat at her desk surfing the  
internet shopping sites. It would have been a completely normal scene  
except that Gunn was polishing his ax. The rain pattered insistently  
against the window panes, probably the reason for the lull in business.  
  
The front door crashed open, breaking the calm silence of the room.  
Willow burst into the lobby, soaking wet and shivering violently.   
"Willow." Cordelia stood up. Being the closest, she immediately   
started to cross over to her old friend.   
  
"No," Willow shouted and jumped back, ready to run back out into the  
rain. "Don't come near me." Then, to the utter astonishment of three  
of the people in the room, Willow vamped. "Stay back. I don't want to  
hurt you." Her voice sounded strange coming from her contorted mouth.  
  
"Willow." Angel walked toward her, unafraid of her new status. Her  
yellow eyes looked up at him, pleading and afraid. He was going to  
stake the vampire who did this to her, after he had tortured him.   
Slowly, she sank to the floor and huddled in a ball. "Who did this to  
you?"  
  
"Angel. Please help me. I can't...I don't want to hurt anyone." With  
a final, violent shudder, Willow passed out and her features settled   
back to human.   
  
Now she looked like Willow, their friend. Angel gestured for the   
others to stand back as he cautiously approached the prone girl. He  
knelt down beside her. Despite Willow's earlier warning and Angel's  
caution, Cordelia stepped forward to stand behind him. "She has her  
soul still, right? Otherwise she would have killed us or at least  
tried to. She wouldn't have warned me to stay back. Angel?"  
  
"She has a soul." A soul as bright as Willow's was unmistakable. He  
didn't know what had happened, but Willow's soul was still present and  
so were a few other things. Angel reached down and brushed her hair  
away from her neck. The red, angry puncture wounds of a vampire stood  
out against her pale white skin. Dark blue bruises were starting to  
form around them. Angel estimated that she was attacked less than an  
hour ago. Why hadn't Willow told him she was coming to L. A.? He  
could have protected her. Angel moved past the wound and felt the  
side of Willow's neck to confirm what he could clearly hear. "And a  
heartbeat. Her skin is warm and she's breathing. Willow isn't dead."  
Angel lifted the crumpled girl in his arms. She moaned softly, but  
didn't wake up.  
  
"But, how is that possible?" Wesley reached out to validate Angel's  
claims. Willow's flesh was chilly, but it was from the cold rain   
outside. Already, her skin was warming to room temperature and she  
was breathing raggedly.  
  
"I don't know. I'm taking her upstairs." Angel walked to the stairs.  
He couldn't think of how it happened or who had attacked Willow right  
now. As it was, he had to quell the rage that burst inside him at the  
thought of her attacker. At the moment, Willow was the important one  
and taking care of her was everything. "Cordelia, shut the door.   
Wesley, get some blood from the fridge and warm it for about a minute.  
Gunn...bring a stake, but don't use it unless I ask. Please."  
  
Gunn nodded, even though Angel didn't look at him to see if he agreed  
with him or not. He had a feeling if he had tried to stake the girl   
without Angel's okay, he would be on the wrong end of Angel's fangs,  
not to mention Cordelia's wrath. Gunn watched Angel carry the girl   
upstairs. Cordelia followed close behind, fussing at them and wiping   
the tears from her face. He didn't know the redheaded vampire or   
non-vampire - whatever the hell she was - but she was obviously   
important to his friends. So important that Angel couldn't even bring  
himself to stake her if she turned out to be evil.  
  
"Wesley." Gunn caught the ex-watcher's arm as he passed by him. "Who  
is she?"  
  
"Willow Rosenberg. She's from Sunnydale, an old highschool chum of  
Cordelia's and the best friend of the Slayer." Wesley carefully   
balanced the large glass full of blood as they walked up the stairs.  
Spilling it was a distasteful prospect. "She was the one who had  
brought the news that Buffy had died."  
  
"Angel's ex-girl." Gunn nodded, understanding things a bit better. She   
had looked a little familiar, but the whole vampire thing had thrown   
him. "I take it the last time she was here, she wasn't a vampire."  
  
"Heavens, no. Miss Rosenberg joined the Slayer in her fight against  
evil. She's actually quite proficient in magics. And according to  
Angel, she isn't a vampire now, at least not in the traditional sense  
of the word. She is still alive."  
  
"Freaky." They walked into Angel's room. He was sitting on the bed  
next to a prone Willow while Cordelia hovered over them anxiously. Gunn  
had only seen her this worried when one of them was in danger.   
  
"Maybe it's a spell. You know, like a vampire-for-a-day spell or   
something like that... Do they have those?" Cordelia sat on the end of  
the bed and then immediately bounced back to her feet again.  
  
"I don't think so. If there was, why would Willow use one?" Angel's  
finger glanced over the puncture wound on Willow's neck. "She was   
attacked."  
  
"Could it be the result of a botched attempt to bring her across?"  
Wesley suggested. He held out the glass of blood. "I've never heard   
of it happening."  
  
"Neither have I." Angel accepted the glass. He noticed Willow's nose  
twitch and heard a low rumble in her throat as she caught the blood's  
scent. "Screwing up something like that usually means the fledgling is  
dead. There's no such thing as a half-vampire. At least there wasn't  
until now." Willow moaned and fidgeted on the bed. "You guys should   
leave us alone...."  
  
"Angel," Cordelia interrupted. She wasn't going to be banished from  
the room, not when her friend was in trouble just so Angel could play  
white knight. Willow needed to have the familiarity of an old friend.  
She needed to see that Cordelia didn't care that she was a vampire,   
that she was still her friend. "Willow is my friend too. She needs  
my help."  
  
"And you will help her. Later." Angel set the glass on the  
night stand. He stood up and gently escorted Cordelia toward the door.  
Gunn and Wesley followed them, ready to back Angel up. "Right now   
Willow needs to feed and the less humans in the immediate vicinity,   
the better."  
  
"She's hungry, Cordelia. We would just be temptation," Wesley added  
for emphasis. He and Gunn took over Angel's position by the   
distraught girl's side and eased her out of the room, leaving Angel  
alone with Willow.  
  
Once the others had left the room, Willow's heart beat slowed. She   
had regained consciousness when Cordelia had protested leaving the   
room. She was glad that Angel had persuaded her to leave. Willow   
felt the bed sag under Angel's weight. His fingers caressed his   
cheek. "Willow," he crooned. "Willow, open your eyes. It's okay,   
we're alone."  
  
"I can still hear their hearts beating." Willow opened her eyes. It   
was a constant drumming in her head that wouldn't stop and made her so  
atrociously thirsty.  
  
"You get used to it." Angel smiled at Willow, hoping that she would  
smile back. She looked so sad and frightened, but she wasn't alone  
anymore. He would take care of her and she needed to know that.   
"Trust me, eventually you won't even notice it. Here, sit up." Angel  
helped Willow sit up and brought the glass of blood to her lips. The   
moment the blood was in her mouth, Willow started to gag, but she   
didn't stop drinking. Tears slipped down her cheeks. Angel set the  
empty glass back on the night stand and wiped the tears away with his  
thumb. "The bathroom is over there. You can take a nice, long, hot  
shower and I'll find you some dry clothes. Then you can tell us what  
happened, okay?"  
  
All he got was a nod from Willow. She slipped from his bed and   
disappeared into the bathroom. Once the shower started, Angel looked  
through his closet for something suitable for Willow to wear. He found  
a navy silk shirt that would be too long, but if she rolled up the   
sleeves it would do. Angel set the shirt on his bed, picked up the   
empty glass and left the room. Downstairs, Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn  
were waiting impatiently.  
  
"Well?" Cordelia pounced on him. "How is she? What happened? Is   
she...is she a...is she evil?"  
  
"No, Willow isn't evil, but she is a vampire. She drank the blood,  
although she didn't find it very appetizing." Angel rinsed the glass  
out. "She's taking a shower. I asked her to explain everything to us  
later. Cordy, do you have an extra skirt or something that Willow   
could wear?"  
  
"Of course." Cordelia immediately left, glad that she had something to   
do that could be considered helping.  
  
"Do you think Mr. Giles and the others know about this?" Wesley   
couldn't get the image of Willow's tortured vampire face out of his   
mind. And while he had sympathy for the girl, her very existence   
intrigued him. His brain literally swam with the possible how's and   
why's and he couldn't wait to hear what happened. An alive vampire -  
incredible.  
  
"I doubt it and we're not calling them unless Willow wants us to. It's  
going to be hard enough for her to deal with everything without having  
to worry about what Buffy, Xander, and Giles will think of her." A   
part of Angel still remembered and resented how he had been treated by  
the slayer, the watcher, and the boy. Xander had only shown him   
contempt and hate, Giles had never truly trusted him, and Buffy had  
wanted to ignore what he was. He knew it wasn't fair to assume that   
they would treat Willow the same way - Xander would certainly never  
hate her - but he knew their reactions would be an added burden to  
Willow. She must have known it too, because she had come to him for  
help. He knew the others would react badly to that as well.  
  
"Didn't you say that your wacked out childe's childe...Spike...was   
hanging out with the slayer and her friends?" Gunn asked. "Could it   
have been him?"  
  
Angel hadn't thought of Spike. He had gained their trust fighting   
Glory by their side. Willow would have trusted him. He could have  
gotten close. "If it was, he'll beg me to stake him."  
  
"It wasn't Spike." Willow stood at the bottom of the stairs with  
Cordelia at her side. Cordelia placed a comforting and supportive arm  
around Willow's shoulders. She was wearing a simple black skirt that  
Cordelia kept at the office for audition emergencies and the navy silk  
shirt Angel had laid out for her. Her feet were bare and her toes   
fidgeted on the floor.  
  
"Would you like something to drink?" Wesley offered without thinking.  
His face turned red as soon as he did and he stammered, "Some coffee or  
a...a soda, maybe...something refreshing...iced tea or lemonade."  
  
To his relief and everyone else's, Willow smiled and laughed softly.  
"Yes, please. I would love some coffee."  
  
"Just one cup. We don't need you on a caffeine high," Cordelia   
admonished. She escorted Willow over to the couch. She sat on one  
side of her and Angel took his place on her other side. Willow   
collected her thoughts while they waited for Wesley to return with her  
coffee. It was a confusing story. She wasn't quite sure herself what  
had happened.  
  
"I was alone in our dorm room. Tara had a night class, Buffy and Spike  
were patrolling, Dawn was at a slumber party, Xander and Anya went to a  
movie, and Giles is in England visiting relatives. I had the whole  
evening to myself, so I decided to make a nonHellmouth time. I was  
watching Con Air...."  
  
"Con Air?" Angel broke in, not because he was unfamiliar with the   
movie, but because he was. It didn't seem like a Willow-movie.  
  
"It has John Cusack in it. It's not one of his best movies - that's a  
tie between Say Anything and Grosse Pointe Blank - but he is in it.  
Anyway, I was watching the movie when the room got all hazy, like the  
air had gotten heavier and I felt woozy. There was a tearing sound, a  
loud ripping, and this portal opened. It was me...the Vampire Willow  
from that other dimension. She was angry, ranting about how we had   
sent her back to be dusted, but that she was saved. Someone or   
something stopped her from being dusted and taught her how to open  
portals so she could get back here. She said she'd been to other   
places, had found other versions of us. She didn't say what happened   
to them and I don't think I want to know. She attacked me, she was  
going to turn me. I couldn't stop her. I knew that, but I didn't   
want to be evil. For some reason, I remembered the words to the soul  
restoration ritual. I thought it might keep my soul in my body after  
I died and was turned, but something weird happened. An incredible,  
searing pain burned through my body. I...I screamed and the Vampire me  
turned to dust. She just crumbled. Then I passed out." Willow   
touched the wounds to her neck. "When I woke up, I felt weird. I had  
these memories that weren't mine. When I looked in the mirror my   
reflection was blurry and there was this horrible pounding in my head.  
It was the heartbeats of the students in their dorms. I wanted...I  
could almost taste their blood. I vamped." Willow cut herself off  
with a sob.  
  
"This happened in Sunnydale?" Angel cradled Willow in his arms and let  
her cry. It didn't make sense, there wouldn't have been enough time  
for her to get here from Sunnydale. "How did you get here, Willow?  
This wound is fresh, it can't be more than an hour old."  
  
"I don't know. I fainted again when I vamped and when I woke up, I was  
in L. A., a couple of blocks away." Willow wiped her tears and edged  
herself out of Angel's embrace. Now that her hunger was sated, her  
story told, and her fear lessened, being close to Angel brought out   
other feelings. She was uncomfortably aware of his body. She wanted  
to touch him, smell him, taste him. "I, uh, I've been experimenting  
with teleportation spells. I could have used one before I lost  
consciousness. I don't remember."  
  
"That's probably it." Angel patted Willow's hand. He was well aware  
of the newly erotic sensations he was causing Willow to experience. It  
was part of being a vampire, the demons called to each other -   
especially powerful ones. He remembered Vampire Willow and some of the  
things she had said to him, had suggested that they do together, before  
she left. She had a relationship with his double in their dimension -  
granted it wasn't a going to dinner and the movies type relationship -  
and since Willow seemed to have inherited her demon, she would have   
those feelings as well. He pushed aside the memory that he had been  
tempted to indulge in some of Vampire Willow's feelings for his double  
before they had sent her back to her dimension.  
  
"What's going to happen to me, Angel?"  
  
"I don't know. We'll research this. The restoration spell, dimension  
portals, and Vampire Willow's dimension. We'll get as much information  
as we can and while we're doing that, I'll help you deal with being a  
vampire." To hell with the sexual tension, he needed to hold her.  
Angel hugged Willow tightly. "Don't worry, Willow. We'll help you."  
  
"Good." Willow sniffled and snuggled into Angel's arms. "I'd hate it  
if Buffy had to stake me."  
  
To be continued.... 


	2. Chapter Two

Part Two  
  
It was just a door. A simple wooden door. Angel could break it down  
easily, not that he would have to, all he had to do was knock on it.  
Willow was on the other side of the door and she was awake. He could   
hear her moving around, going about her morning routine - probably  
getting dressed. Angel knocked on the door.  
  
"Good morning, Angel." Willow opened her bedroom door. She was fully  
dressed in the borrowed clothes from the night before. "Or, I guess  
I should say good afternoon."  
  
"Either is fine." Angel held up a mug. "I brought breakfast, or  
lunch."  
  
Willow grimaced at the offered blood, but took it. "Thanks. We'll  
call it brunch."  
  
"The others will be here soon," Angel urged. He didn't want her to go  
through the raging bloodlust she had experienced the night before. She  
looked better, less scared and vulnerable. Angel was glad. He knew  
that her life would never be the same, but she would adjust. She was  
already starting to adapt.  
  
"Hey, I didn't gag as much this time," Willow announced triumphantly.  
She grinned at Angel and he couldn't help but to grin back. "Angel?"  
Willow gulped and she lost her smile. She leaned forward. Their  
bodies were almost touching. He could smell the blood she had just  
drank.  
  
"Wake up, sleepyfangs!" Cordelia sang from downstairs. "It's time to  
research and you're not getting out of it just because you're creatures  
of the night."  
  
Angel stepped back. The pull toward Willow was amazingly strong. The  
only other vampire he had ever been this drawn to was Darla and that   
was because she was his sire. He didn't share a blood bond with   
Willow, so that couldn't be the reason. "We should go downstairs and  
research."  
  
"Th..that's a good idea." Willow followed Angel downstairs, mortified  
that her gaze repeatedly strayed to his ass. He had a nice ass. Firm  
and muscled...Willow licked her lips. Snap out of it! This had to be  
the demon part of herself. She had never thought about Angel's ass  
before. Well, there was that one time, but it was totally Buffy's   
fault. At the thought of Buffy, Willow felt sad and afraid. She was a  
vampire now, how was she going to be the slayer's best friend?  
  
"Hey, Willow, did you want to take the comp...Oh, my God, we have got  
to go shopping and get you some clothes." Cordelia grabbed Willow's  
hand. She stopped abruptly before the front door. "Can you go out in  
the sunlight?"  
  
"I don't know." Willow considered the patch of sunlight filtering   
through the window beside the door.  
  
"Perhaps we should begin researching and worry about Miss Rosenberg's  
wardrobe later."  
  
"Willow, Wesley, call me Willow. And you too, Gunn."  
  
"Actually, I thought I'd call you 'Tiger.'" Gunn grinned. Half vampire  
or not, he liked this little redhead. She had pulled herself together  
quickly the night before and it looked like she was accepting what had  
happened to her. Gunn liked people with courage and spunk.  
  
"Sure. Why don't we investigate instead of research?" Willow slowly   
approached the sunlight.   
  
"Be careful, Willow," Angel cautioned. He wanted to pull her back into  
the safety of the shadows, but this was really the only way to find   
out. He controlled the impulse and watched as Willow held out her  
hand. Sunlight streamed across her fingers, but she didn't pull it   
back and she didn't catch fire.  
  
"It tingles." Willow wiggled her fingers. She stepped forward, fully  
into the light. "Ow!" She hastily stepped back, slapping her hand   
over her eyes. Angel was at her side immediately, leading her back   
into the dim lobby. "Oh, ouch. It hurts. My eyes, ow."  
  
"Shhh, it's okay. You're out of the light now." Angel soothed her,  
rubbing her back and stroking her hair. He shouldn't have let her take   
chances with her life. She was hurt because of him. Gently, Angel   
took Willow's hands from her eyes. They were a little red and watery,  
but she seemed to focus on him. "Can you see?"  
  
"Yes." Willow wiped the tears from her eyes. "I think it's too bright.  
The sunlight didn't burn my eyes. I'm just sensitive to it."  
  
"Here." Cordelia dug into her purse and brought out a pair of   
sunglasses. "Try these." Willow took them and put them on. Angel  
reluctantly let her go and she ventured back into the sunlight  
successfully this time. "Excellent." Cordelia crowed. She grabbed  
Willow's hand. "Problem solved. Let's go shopping." The girls   
disappeared out the door before Angel could register his protest.  
  
*****  
  
Shopping with Cordelia was something Willow had only experienced once.  
She had hoped to never repeat it, but now she was glad she had.   
Cordelia had changed since she had left Sunnydale for L. A. She was  
still blunt, but her edges were softer. She still gave the salesgirls  
a hard time, but it was because they stared at Willow and not because  
they didn't have the sweater she wanted in her favorite color.   
Although Willow didn't blame them, they probably didn't get a lot of  
bare footed customers wearing a silk shirt ten times too big, a black  
mini skirt that reached past her knees, and dark sunglasses.  
  
"Ooo, these are perfect." Cordelia held up a pair of red leather boots.  
  
"Maybe if I were auditioning for Pretty Woman 2. I would break my neck  
on those heels, Cordy." Willow slipped on a pair of comfortable blue  
sandals with yellow sunflowers. "I like these."  
  
"Okay. I just thought maybe you would like to get down with your bad  
vampire self." Cordelia shrugged and started to put the boots back,  
but changed her mind. "I'll buy them and you can borrow them if you  
want."  
  
Impulsively, Willow hugged Cordelia. "Thanks for accepting this and  
treating me like I'm normal."  
  
"Hey, we're from Sunnydale." Cordelia hugged the slight girl back.   
"This is normal. You know, Willow, if you ever want to talk...I know  
you'll probably want to talk about the vampire stuff with Angel, but  
if you want to talk about your feelings...Mr. Stoic hasn't exactly been  
an expert in dealing with his own feelings...so, you know, I'm here."  
  
"Yeah. That's why I'm here. I knew you and Angel would help me."  
Willow smiled sadly. She sifted through the blouses as Cordelia turned  
to the rack of leather pants on sale behind them. "Do you think Xander  
will hate me?"  
  
"Never in a million years." Cordelia whipped around to face Willow.   
She handed her a pair of dark hunter green leather pants. "Here, try  
these on." She pushed Willow into a dressing room and grabbed a burnt  
orange silk tank top and handed that to her as well. "And this.   
Honestly, Willow, Xander loves you. He could never hate you. He won't  
like what you've become and he'll find some way to blame Angel and  
hate him even more, but never you."  
  
"You're right. But still, what am I going to do now? I won't fit in  
with the Scoobies anymore. The slayer can't have a vampire for a best  
friend."  
  
"Why not?" Cordelia shoved a black spandex t-shirt and a flowing blue  
skirt through the curtain that separated them. "She certainly   
overlooked the fangs long enough to fall in love and bed one of them.  
She would be a total hypocrite not to want you as her friend.   
Especially since everyone would still think she was dead if you hadn't  
figured out that her consciousness was trapped in that vortex thing   
and then went in and led her out using the same spell you used when she  
went comatose over losing Dawn."  
  
"What do you think?" Willow stepped out wearing the black top and blue  
skirt. It was time to stop discussing Buffy, Xander, and their possible  
reactions. Willow just wanted to forget about it for a little while.  
  
"Big improvement." Cordelia took the change in subject in stride. She  
ripped the tags from the clothes Willow was wearing and gathered up the  
others she had tried on in the dressing room and dumped them into the  
arms of the nearest salesgirl. "She's wearing those out and we'll take  
these as well. After we pay, there are like three more shops that we  
have to hit. There's also this cool bistro with the hottest waiters  
just down the street where we can have lunch, we can drag Fred out of  
the library to join us. Oh, and you haven't met Lorne yet."  
  
*****  
  
The sun was setting. Cordelia had monopolized Willow all day. They  
still weren't back from shopping. How long does it take to buy  
clothes? You walk into a store, pick up some things off the rack, and  
then pay for them. It shouldn't have taken them more than twenty  
minutes. Angel shifted in his chair. Wesley had made him stop pacing  
an hour ago. He couldn't help it. Willow was so vulnerable and   
delicate. He was worried. What if she got hungry? She hadn't eaten  
in hours and fledglings tended to need to feed more often in the   
beginning. Of course, Willow wasn't a typical fledgling. His desk  
chair creaked as Angel shifted again.   
  
"Angel," Gunn snapped. He stood up and tossed Angel a mace. "You need  
to get your mind off Tiger. What's with you and this obsessing over  
women? She won't disappear if you stop thinking about her for a   
second." Gunn grinned at Angel's low growl. He brandished his newly  
polished ax with a flourish. "Take your best shot."  
  
Angel stood up, holding the mace at his side. He and Gunn moved into   
the open area of the lobby, circling each other with predatory grace.  
Angel's mind went blank as he focused on his adversary. Gunn was a  
worthy opponent in a sparring match. He wasn't as strong or fast as  
Buffy, but he was smart and he had great battle instincts that he   
didn't second guess. He was also impatient. Angel waited for Gunn to  
make the first move.  
  
"So, Angel, is Tiger free? Cause vampire or not, she's one hot little  
number." Gunn's features split into another grin as Angel's eyes   
flashed gold. Angel hadn't expected his first attack to be verbal.  
But Gunn was catching on. Damn vampire always waited until he lashed   
out first and then it usually ended up with him on his ass. It wasn't  
going to happen this time. Even if he had to use Angel's obvious  
less-than-brotherly feelings for the vampire witch.  
  
"No, she has a girlfriend."  
  
"What?" Angel used Gunn's surprise against him and swung the mace. It  
clanged on the ax as Gunn deflected the blow. Unfortunately, the  
defensive move unbalanced Gunn and Angel swept his feet out from under  
him. Not to be totally outdone, Gunn kicked at Angel's knee. They  
both fell to the floor with a thud.  
  
The front door opened and both men looked up to see Cordelia, Willow,   
and Fred with their arms laden with shopping bags. "See, I told you  
they would keep themselves occupied." Cordelia stepped over the guys  
and walked to her desk. "You better not have broken anything of mine.  
How many times do I have to tell you not to rough house in here?   
That's what the ballroom is for." Cordelia glared at them and then   
turned to Wesley who was sitting in his office with the door wide open.  
Books were piled up on his desk. "Why didn't you stop them, Wesley?"  
  
"Cordelia, we've been researching all afternoon, not gallivanting about  
the city on a shopping spree." Wesley took off his glasses and rubbed  
his nose. His initial excitement had quickly dissipated, he was now   
worried and exhausted. His reading had turned up very little   
information. He didn't know if he could help Miss Rosenberg. The last  
thing he needed was a lecture from Cordelia. "This is a very serious  
matter. We need to know as much as possible."  
  
"And I'm sure Angel and Gunn got a lot of useful information from the  
floor." Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Now, Willow and I have discovered  
a lot while gallivanting. For example, Willow still needs to eat   
regular people food, garlic doesn't effect her...."  
  
"Garlic doesn't effect me either," Angel stated drily. Willow set down  
her bags and held out her hand to him. Her grip was strong as she  
helped him to his feet. "That's a myth."  
  
"Crosses only give her this horrible, bumpy rash that goes away pretty  
quickly," Cordelia continued as if Angel hadn't interrupted. "And she  
doesn't need an invitation. We stopped at my place so she could meet  
Dennis. We also went to see Lorne." Cordelia gave Wesley a   
self-satisfied smirk. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out   
at him.  
  
"She took me shopping and then she made me sing." Willow pouted at   
Angel. He squeezed her hand, the one he hadn't let go of once he was  
on his feet.  
  
"You have a beautiful voice," Fred offered hesitantly. She hovered in  
the doorway. These were her friends, but she was still afraid. Afraid  
that they weren't real, that being back was just a dream. She was   
afraid that one day she would step into the hotel and its walls would  
disintegrate, her friends would disappear, and she would be back in her  
cave in Pylea, talking to herself.  
  
"Thanks, Fred." Willow smiled at the girl. She reminded her of herself  
in highschool before she had met Buffy, shy and nervous. She was glad  
that Cordelia seemed to have taken her under her wing. Again, it was  
just like her and Buffy. Willow lost her smile and sighed.  
  
"What did Lorne say?" Angel asked softly. He squeezed her hand again.  
  
Willow blushed. She wasn't exactly ready to share everything that the  
green-skinned reader demon had told her and especially not with the  
group. She wasn't even sure she believed it. He must have   
misinterpreted something. But she could tell them one thing. "He said  
someone close to me brought this about. Whoever sent VampWillow after  
me didn't want this to happen, I was supposed to die. She was supposed  
to kill me. All me's in every dimension. What did I do to make   
someone hate me that much?" Willow moved into Angel's waiting arms.  
  
*****  
  
The bodies of the children wove around each other in a heated frenzy to  
the beat of the loud music. It was incredibly hot in the nightclub,  
both in temperature and hormones. That was the way Darla liked it.   
She had left L. A., but not because her errant childe had ordered her   
to. She had needed time to shed the scummy film of humanity that had  
clung to her. Angel was a bad influence, he had actually made her   
care. Darla shivered. A sweet, young boy - no more than twenty-two -  
caught her eye. Draining him would be a step in the right direction.  
He reminded her of an uncorrupted, younger Lindsey.  
  
A hand on her arm stopped Darla's approach and pulled her into the  
shadows instead. "Dru?" Darla cocked her head at the insane vampire.  
"I thought you had gone to Sunnydale to get Spike back."  
  
Dru pouted. "My Spikey's head is full of the slayer. She's taken him  
like she did my Daddy, only she won't play with Spikey. He's a bad  
boy."  
  
"She is a greedy little slut, isn't she?" Darla grimaced. It still   
hurt that the schoolgirl had the power to bring back her boy and she  
did not. "So, what brings you to San Diego, Dru? Do you want to kill  
the bitch?"  
  
"She was dead, but now she's alive." Dru's sad eyes brightened and she  
started to hum and sway. "The stars told me a wonderful story,   
Grandmother Daughter. The little tree that weeps has joined our family.  
She's my new Mummy and she'll give me brothers and sisters to play   
with." Dru cradled her stomach, protecting a nonexistent baby. "Her  
womb isn't dead."  
  
As always, Dru's rambling was frustrating. It didn't make sense. It  
sounded like Angel had found a new woman, but there was no way he could  
give her children.  
  
Following Darla's train of thought, Dru sang softly, "There's a spell.  
Daddy and Mummy will have beautiful children. They'll walk in the  
light."  
  
"And destroy by day if we play our cards right." Darla still didn't   
understand how what Dru was saying was possible, but she would. "Let's  
get back to Los Angeles. It's time I was a bad influence on Angel and  
this time I'll use his new love to bring him back home."  
  
To be continued.... 


	3. Chapter Three

Part Three  
  
The more he thought about it, the more Willow Rosenberg's condition  
disturbed Wesley. The initial excitement of a new phenomena had passed  
and he was quickly being overcome with a quiet dread. Wesley watched  
as Angel took Willow through some Tai Chi exercises. He was trying to  
use the techniques he had learned to help Willow control the demon that  
now dwelled inside of her.  
  
An alive vampire. Wesley doubted that the rest of his friends or  
Willow herself had fully contemplated the implications of the existence  
of such a being. She could withstand daylight. She didn't need an  
invitation. These facts made him uneasy and while he knew that Willow  
wasn't a threat - she still possessed her soul after all - there were  
people who would use her existence to their advantage. He knew that  
Wolfram and Hart would probably sell the souls of their progeny for the  
opportunity to exploit Willow. There was still the question of whether  
or not she could bear offspring. If she could, what would they be?  
Demons with souls? The possession of a soul did not immunize one from  
evil - all the atrocities that humankind committed against each other  
was proof of that - so it couldn't be sworn that if Willow were to  
produce a child that the child would be on the side of good. The   
gleaming silver letter opener his mother had given him when he had been  
accepted into the Watcher's Council caught his eye. He knew what his  
duty as a Watcher was.  
  
"Angel!" Willow's laugh pulled Wesley's gaze from the sharp instrument.  
Angel was holding her up, she had obviously stumbled over a move. The  
normally morose vampire at her side was grinning at the girl, his face  
alight with a rare joy. "That is not what that position is called!"  
Willow's face was flushed from more than just the workout.  
  
"It is. I swear." Angel dodged the playful punch Willow threw at his  
shoulder.  
  
Wesley was no longer a Watcher. He was a member of the Angel   
Investigations team and he couldn't kill Willow. For one thing, he was  
pretty sure Angel would rip his head off before he had a chance to   
explain that the demon wouldn't let her die and that he was just  
trying to make her truly one of the undead. There had to be some way  
to get rid of the demon.  
  
"Depossession!" Wesley suddenly yelled, not noticing the dirty look Angel  
sent him.  
  
Damn ex-watcher! Didn't he stop thinking for two minutes? Angel was  
in the middle of showing Willow the correct way to go through the   
movements he had told Willow was called Horny Monkey, but was actually  
called Flying Dragon. He was positioning her body, his hand on one of  
her hips and his other cradling her wrist as he guided it through the  
movements and Wesley's interruption was not appreciated. The upbeat  
thump of Willow's heart and the warmth of her skin was wreaking havoc  
on his senses. He wanted to keep touching her. Now he had to let her  
go, so they could listen to what Wesley had to say.  
  
"Willow's body is still alive so we should be able to exorcize the   
demon without harming her." Wesley beamed. He didn't know why he   
hadn't thought of it before and he was almost weak in the knees with  
relief. He wasn't going to have to bring up concerns that would scare  
everyone or solutions that would have Angel glowering at him in   
yellow-eyed fury for years to come. "Of course we'll have to find a  
reputable exorcism ritual."  
  
"What about the one we used on that devil child?" Cordelia watched  
Angel and Willow with interest from her seat at her desk. She had  
never seen Angel so relaxed and happy. She also noticed that while he  
had let go of Willow's wrist, his other hand still lingered at her   
waist. "How soon we forget saving evil from evil."  
  
"No, no, this would be much more complicated than that. The demon that  
possesses the dead is different from one that possesses the living."  
  
"But Willow isn't dead," Cordelia pointed out.   
  
"That's what makes it complicated!" Wesley snapped in exasperation.  
"And then there's the spell she used...somehow the soul restoration  
figures into this...I just don't know how...."  
  
"Then we should do more research." Angel ignored the slight thrill his  
suggestion gave him. He liked having Willow around. He didn't want to  
look too deeply at the selfishness behind that feeling. He didn't   
want to dwell on how finding a 'cure' for Willow would mean that she  
would return to Sunnydale and he would be alone in more ways than one.  
Because if he had to look at all that, than he would also have to admit  
that he really liked having another vampire with a soul around.   
Someone unique and alone in the vampire world. They could be alone  
together. It was an extremely selfish line of thought. "And then   
attempt an exorcism."  
  
"I can contact some people who can tell me more about the soul   
restoration ritual." Willow shot a wary glance at Angel, not sure how  
he would react to her news. "I've talked to some of Miss Calendar's   
family. They've been willing to help me."  
  
"With what?" Angel frowned. The idea of Willow associating with the  
gypsy clan that had cursed him was disturbing. What happened if she  
did something they didn't like? They could hurt her.  
  
"I've been...well, I kinda was working on nullifying the clause in your  
curse," Willow said the last words in one rushed breath. "I wanted to  
make your soul permanent, so you could be happy, Angel." Willow bit her  
lip and chanced a glance at her friend. He was still frowning, but the  
crease in his forehead was from worry, not anger.  
  
"Do they know that's what they're helping you with?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
The front door banged open, forestalling any answer Willow would have  
given Angel. Gunn and two other guys stood in the doorway. Their  
clothing was torn and the bloody trails of multiple scratch marks   
marred their dark skin. A hideous stench, like burnt hair and flesh,  
hung in the air. "We've got trouble," Gunn announced unnecessarily  
as he strode toward the weapons cabinet.  
  
"Blikar demons." Wesley grimaced as he held his arm up to cover his  
nose. "Horrible little things."  
  
"These ones ain't so little," Gunn's Hispanic friend, Ricky, corrected  
Wesley. "Great Danes don't have anything on these suckers. They're  
all teeth and drool."  
  
"And a damn nasty smell," Gunn's other friend, Leon, added. He caught  
the sword Gunn tossed at him.  
  
Wesley was shaking his head. "But Blikar demons are only the size of  
a rat. They travel in packs and attack together."  
  
"They're still doing that." Ricky shivered and tapped the club Gunn  
had given him against his thigh nervously. "They just had a growth  
spurt."  
  
"Blikar demons are usually conjured by a practitioner of the black arts  
to go after a particular enemy," Willow offered. "Maybe whoever   
conjured them made them bigger for some reason." She moved to join the  
others gathering at the door, but Angel pulled her back.  
  
"No, Willow, you can't go with us."  
  
"Why not? Angel, I'm not a child anymore. We had to defend Sunnydale  
by ourselves when Buffy was...gone. And I'm a witch, I still have my  
powers, and you're going to need me when you track down whoever   
conjured the Blikars."  
  
"I know, but that won't be tonight. Tonight we're just going to kill  
the demons, we'll worry about who conjured them tomorrow." Angel held  
up a hand to stop Willow's next protest. "You can't come with us,  
Willow. You have control over the demon now, but you haven't been in a  
violent situation yet. The demon would automatically take control and  
I don't know if you've learned enough to take it back after the fight   
is over."  
  
"I have to be able to put the demon back in the cage after I let it  
out." The thought scared Willow. She didn't want to ever let the demon  
out. She wanted to keep it locked and chained tightly in her   
subconscious. But she also knew that it was inevitable that it would  
emerge. Willow knew what it was like to lose control. Sometimes it  
happened when she was performing a new spell, but she always knew that  
she would get it back. That after the spell was over, she would regain  
control of her body automatically. "I'll stay here and research the  
restoration ritual. I...should probably make a phone call anyway."  
  
"Gonna finally call Sunnydale and fess up to your new vampy status?"  
Cordelia grimaced in sympathy. Angel had called to let them know that  
Willow was safe and staying with him for a while until she had sorted  
out a few things, but he hadn't given them details. She knew the  
Scooby gang would be going crazy with questions and was actually   
surprised that Xander, Buffy, and Giles hadn't already shown up on   
their doorstep.  
  
"Yeah." Willow sighed. She gave Angel a small smile to let him know  
she was fine as they left. She followed them to the door. "Good luck   
killing demons. And, oh, if you can bring back the front paws and the  
nose of the alpha demon, I can use it to trace the conjurer," she  
called from the doorway as her friends piled into Angel's convertible  
and drove off.   
  
Willow went back inside and shut the door. The phone rested innocently  
on the front desk. This was not a conversation she was looking forward  
to. She was just glad she didn't have to see their faces when she   
told her friends she was a vampire. Giles' sadness and disappointment.  
Buffy's anger. Xander's disgust. Anya's indifference. Tara's   
heartache and finally rejection. It was going to be bad enough hearing  
it in their voices.  
  
*****  
  
They could smell them long before they could see them. The stench   
worsened as Gunn, Wesley, Ricky, and Leon walked cautiously down the  
dark alley. Cordelia trailed along behind them, a cell phone in her  
hand. She looked nervously behind her and then above her. The   
comforting silhouette of Angel was only visible when he moved along the  
roof of the building.  
  
From his vantage point high above, he could see dark forms shuffling  
around a dead end. The Blikars must have lost their prey. Angel took  
a cell phone from the pocket of his duster and pressed the speed dial.  
He watched as Cordelia put her phone to her ear. He had made sure that  
the phone had been on vibrate before they had left the car. The last  
thing they would have needed was for a ringing phone to alert the   
Blikars to their presence.   
  
"Cordy, they're at the end of the alley. There's a dead end and   
there's five of them. I want Wes and Gunn to rush them. I'm going to  
drop down on the other side of the Blikars. You, Leon, and Ricky   
stay back and pick off any stragglers that make a break for it." Angel  
pocketed the phone and waited while Cordelia related the information to  
the others. Once Gunn and Wesley started down the alley, Angel moved.  
  
With blinding speed, Angel crossed the distance of the roof and   
leapt down into the alley. The Blikars turned to him in unison. As   
Ricky had said, they were the size of Great Danes, their features also  
dog-like with long snouts and pointed ears. Unlike dogs though, these  
demons stood on two feet, not four, and their mouths were filled with   
hundreds of razor sharp teeth. There was no tongue to take up space   
from the deadly choppers. A thick viscous, foul-smelling drool dripped  
from their gaping maws. Angel struck out at the largest, the alpha,  
with his double-edged axe making a nice clean slash to the demon's   
right shoulder. The thing went for Angel's jugular, snarling and   
slathering drool all over. Angel snarled back in vampire face and  
clipped it in the jaw with his fist. The beast spun in the air and hit  
the wall.  
  
Before the alpha's comrades could join it in attacking Angel, Wesley  
and Gunn arrived. Gunn tore out the throat of one demon with a   
dagger. Wesley crushed the head of another with a large cudgel. All  
three worked together, hacking, slashing, smashing, and crushing the  
demons. A sharp yelp marked the retreat of one and it headed toward  
Cordelia, Ricky, and Leon. Ricky dealt it a glancing blow to its side  
while Leon stabbed at it with his sword. The Blikar whipped around and  
took a chunk out of Ricky's calf and held on. Leon tried to pry the  
demon's jaws open with his sword and release his friend from its grasp.  
  
With precision aim, an arrow pierced through the beast's temple.   
Cordelia lowered her crossbow. Her nose wrinkled. "I don't own enough  
perfume and shampoo to get rid of this smell." Cordelia went over to  
Ricky and Leon. "We have to get you to a hospital."  
  
"Where did you learn to shoot like that? You saved me." Ricky gasped.  
He gave her a look of adoration that Cordelia hadn't seen since   
highschool.  
  
"Thanks." Cordelia blushed. She didn't get a lot of compliments on her  
battle skills and it was a boost to her ego to see that look again.  
Angel, Wesley, and Gunn tended to take them for granted and any other  
guy she crossed paths with only saw her as another pretty face,  
wanna-be actress.   
  
"Cordy, guys, you okay?" Gunn trotted toward them. Wesley and Angel  
followed behind him. He grabbed Cordelia into a quick hug.  
  
"We're cool, your girl here saved the day. I'll take Ricky to a   
hospital, tell them we ran into a stray dog." Leon helped his friend  
up and supported him as they walked down the alley.  
  
"Thanks for the pointers with the crossbow," Cordelia whispered. She  
gave Gunn a shy smile. She remembered those afternoons with Gunn   
standing behind her, his arms wrapped over hers as he showed her how   
to aim and shoot. At the time, it had been just an excuse to spend   
time with him - Angel had taught her how to use a crossbow ages ago -  
but Gunn's tips had actually come in handy.  
  
"You're a natural, Cordy." Gunn shuffled his feet. No girl had ever  
made him feel like Cordelia Chase did. He wanted to protect her, yet  
he respected her ability to protect herself. He cared about her as  
a friend and maybe more, yet she infuriated him to no end when she   
stuck her nose in his business. She was his guardian angel and   
intoxicating temptress. Every instinct he had told him that Cordelia  
was not the one for him, but he didn't care. It would be very easy to  
fall in love with her.  
  
"Well, that went smoothly. Unfortunately, we have no idea who conjured  
the demons or why and I'm sure that more will take their place."  
Wesley unintentionally interrupted Gunn and Cordelia's moment.  
  
"That reminds me, I have to bring something back for Willow." Angel   
turned back and walked over to the alpha demon. He sliced off its nose  
and front paws and pocketed them.  
  
"You are the master of romance, Angel. I don't know how they used to  
do it back in your day, but I think Tiger would prefer flowers and  
candy." Gunn smirked as the vampire rejoined them.  
  
"You don't know Willow very well." Angel answered quietly. No one   
would know Willow as well as he did now that she battled a demon inside  
of her.  
  
*****  
  
The hotel was dark and empty when Angel returned. Gunn had taken   
Cordelia home and Wesley had went back to his apartment to look up   
exorcism spells. Willow must have gotten tired and went to bed. Angel  
was disappointed. He kind of liked the idea of her waiting up for him.  
  
Upstairs, Angel was greeted by the same dilemma as that afternoon -   
Willow's closed bedroom door. Should he knock? She was probably   
sleeping. But he had the paws and the nose of the alpha demon. But  
she needed her rest and he could give them to her tomorrow. But he  
wanted to see her. A soft moan that ended in a whimper and the   
rustling of sheets came from behind the door. Willow was having a   
nightmare. She needed him.  
  
The door swung open quietly. Willow twisted on the middle of her bed,  
one slim white arm flung out, the other wrapped in the dark sheet and  
her legs kicking and flailing. Another tortured whimper issued from  
her lips. Angel rushed to her side. Gently, he untangled her from the  
sheet and pulled her into his lap. "Shh, Willow. It's okay. I'm   
here," he whispered as he stroked her hair. Willow responded to his  
soothing by wrapping her arms around his waist and burrowing her face  
in his neck. "Willow?" Angel pulled away in surprise when he felt her  
tongue run along his jugular.  
  
Bright green eyes enhanced by a yellow glow looked up at him. Willow's  
lips bowed in a pout. "Don't I even get a taste for old time's sake,  
Puppy?"  
  
To be continued.... 


	4. Chapter Four

Part Four  
  
The alarm in Puppy's eyes was too funny. VampWillow giggled. She  
remembered him from the last time she had visited this world. The   
strong, slayer-whipped Puppy. Seeing him then and now made her regret  
riding her Puppy so hard, she much preferred this one to the sniveling  
pathetic wraith her world had to offer, especially since the slayer was  
no where to be found. FuzzyWillow was so lucky. VampWillow flexed her  
fingers, digging her nails in and out of Angel's back like a cat.  
"Don't worry, Puppy, poor FuzzyWillow is still here." She put a finger  
to her lips. "Shh, she's sleeping."  
  
"Willow! Wake up!" Angel grabbed Willow's shoulders and shook her.   
This was not good. He had no idea how to teach her to control the   
demon while she was asleep. In a way, their situations were reversed.  
The demon was more a part of his body than his soul, it was only there  
because of the curse. In Willow's case, the demon was the separate   
entity and it apparently could gain control of her body when her   
defenses were down.  
  
Ooo, this was fun. This Puppy was rough and strong. VampWillow licked  
her lips. "That won't work. She's filled with lovely fear and she's   
retreated deep into her mind. She thinks this is a part of her dream.   
Don't be sad, Puppy, she'll return to you eventually." She leaned her   
head down and rubbed her cheek on Angel's hand. FuzzyWillow had   
surprised her with her strength. First, she had managed to trap her   
within her body and then she had actually retained control over it. It  
wasn't until she had been emotionally exhausted by everything and the   
added burden of speaking with her friends, that FuzzyWillow had given   
up control. "Meanwhile, let's have some fun."  
  
"No." Angel let go of Willow's shoulders. "I want Willow."  
  
"Don't pout. I know you do. This way, you can have her." VampWillow  
walked her fingers up Angel's chest until she met the third button.  
She flicked it open and slipped her hand inside his shirt to graze his  
nipple with her fingernail. "In the morning, FuzzyWillow will just   
think this dream turned into another one of the naughty ones she has  
about you. Did you know that she has naughty dreams about you, Angel?"  
She used his name, saying it soft and breathlessly like her alterego  
would have had it been her in this situation. Of course, FuzzyWillow  
wouldn't be teasing him so blatantly.  
  
Angel didn't answer. His mouth was dry and Willow's touch burned his  
skin - no, it was the demon's touch. Willow wouldn't want him like   
this, she wouldn't be teasing his nipples into hard little nubs or  
undoing more buttons on his shirt or caressing his thigh with her other  
hand. The demon was toying with him. Willow didn't have erotic  
dreams about him - she was in love with a girl for Christ's sake.  
  
"Puppy," VampWillow sang and nipped Angel's ear. "You aren't playing.  
Maybe I'm being too nice." She grabbed a handful of his hair and gave  
it a sharp tug. Then, with a strength that surprised Angel, she   
flipped him over onto the bed and straddled his waist. She ripped his  
half open shirt from his body and threw it to the floor. "There,   
that's better. Much better," she purred and licked him from his ear  
down his neck to his collarbone. She lifted her head and regarded him  
with her yellow-green eyes. Her tongue darted out and wet her lips  
before her head descended and her fangs sank into the soft skin above  
his collarbone.  
  
The demon clamored and raged within Angel. This upstart half-vampire   
was marking him! Angel could barely fight the urge to give in to its  
fury. Finally, he found enough control to tear her from him and roll  
them both over so he was on top. He pinned her arms over head with  
one hand. "This is not a game I want to play."  
  
All he got in return was a wicked smile and her knee pressing into his  
achingly hard erection. "Parts of you beg to differ. What game did you  
have in mind?"  
  
It was his turn to attack her. Angel bent down to Willow's perfect  
earlobe and nibbled. He allowed his face to change and scraped his  
fang around the outer edge of the lobe. "Who sent you after Willow?"  
He couldn't stop his hands from traveling down her arms to her soft  
round shoulders and brushing aside the flimsy straps of her peach silk  
nightie.  
  
"Why do you want to know?" VampWillow thrust her hips in a slow rhythm,  
rubbing up against Angel. "Are you going to kill this person or do  
you want to say thank you? Admit it, Puppy, you like having   
FuzzyWillow by your side - needing you, adoring you - and you are going  
to love having me."  
  
"Tell me who wants to hurt Willow." Angel fought desperately with the  
urge to bite her, mark her as his as she had done with him. He  
couldn't do that without Willow's consent and this was not Willow.  
  
"FuzzyWillow took her love away and made her angry, so she traveled  
back in time and into my dimension to find me. She's not going to like  
this, you and FuzzyWillow together, but I don't mind it." VampWillow  
giggled.  
  
"Who is she?" Angel pressed Willow's body down harder into the bed. He  
had a sneaking suspicion that he knew the answer to his question, but  
he wanted it confirmed first.  
  
"New game. Guess." VampWillow reached down and squeezed her favorite  
toy. It was a shame, Puppy was so big and hard, but she had to go.  
"Better think fast, FuzzyWillow is waking up and she's going to be   
surprised to see you." The yellow left Willow's eyes and the ridges  
melted from her face. Her green eyes looked up at Angel in confusion.  
"Angel? Wh...what are you doing?"  
  
"Hey, Willow." Angel let go of Willow's shoulders and removed his  
weight from her body. He sat nervously on the edge of her bed and  
decided to go with the truth. "When I got home I came into your room  
to give you the nose and paws of the alpha Blikar demon...."  
  
"Oh, my God, Angel, you're bleeding." Willow sat up. She gently   
probed the ragged bite mark on his collarbone. "What happened? Who  
did this to you?"  
  
"You did." Angel caught Willow's hand. "When I came into your room,  
the demon was in control of your body."  
  
"Oh. I thought I was dreaming." Willow's cheeks flamed as she   
remembered her 'dream.' "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay, you couldn't help it. We just have to find a way for you  
to control it so it doesn't happen again." Angel squeezed Willow's  
hand.  
  
"But she likes you." Willow couldn't believe she was about to suggest   
this, but it was an option. "If you play her game, maybe she'll tell   
us who sent her after me."  
  
"It's too dangerous." Angel didn't specify which of them was in danger.  
He didn't know if he could take another encounter with Willow's demon  
and not give in to the demands of his body and demon. She was too  
willing and having Willow, even if it was just her body, was too   
tempting. He couldn't risk his soul. "You need rest, real rest, so  
let's discuss this in the morning when everyone else is here." Angel  
stood up. He really needed to take a cold shower.  
  
"Angel, what if she takes over once I fall asleep again?" Willow   
shivered and brought her knees up to chin.  
  
"I don't think she will. It never happened when you were sleeping   
before." Angel sat back down on the bed and took Willow's hand. "She  
said that you were afraid and had retreated."  
  
"I was upset after I talked to everyone in Sunnydale. I could feel  
her there, Angel, taunting me in the back of my mind. I didn't know  
what to do, she wouldn't shut up and I wasn't sure if I could stop her  
from taking over. It was so scary and frustrating. I couldn't tell   
what were my feelings and what were hers. I ran up here and tried   
those meditation techniques you taught me. Eventually I fell asleep  
and I thought I was dreaming when she was with you."  
  
"Do you, uh, remember everything that happened between us?" Angel   
ducked his head. He didn't want Willow to feel uncomfortable around  
him.  
  
"Just bits and pieces...I don't really remember what you were saying  
to each other. I, well, I know she likes you." Could she get any  
lamer? It was obvious that the demon that dwelled inside her felt more  
than 'like' for Angel. She couldn't believe the things she had done  
and was kind of glad that she didn't know what she had said to Angel.  
He was probably mortified. She didn't blame him for wanting to leave,  
but she couldn't let him. "Don't leave me alone, Angel. Please. I  
can't control the demon. She's stronger now for some reason. I can  
feel it."  
  
The shine of tears in Willow's eyes and the tremble of her lips were  
Angel's undoing. He couldn't leave her in this condition. "There is  
something I can do to control the demon. I was going to suggest it   
only as a last resort, but if she is getting stronger than we should  
consider it."  
  
"What?" Hope surged through Willow. She moved to sit beside Angel on  
the edge of the bed.  
  
"I could claim you. It's done by biting." Angel self-consciously  
touched the healing bite that her demon had given him and waited for  
disgust or fear to replace the hope in Willow's face. Instead she  
just looked thoughtful. She chewed her lower lip as she considered   
the option. "We're halfway there - you've already bitten me. Once I  
bite you, it'll establish a blood bond and since my demon is older and  
stronger I can exert control over your demon."  
  
"I read about this in one of Giles' books. It's a mating ritual." A  
pretty pink flush infused Willow's cheeks.  
  
"Yes, it is. Would you be uncomfortable with that?" It was surreal.  
He was actually sitting on Willow's bed calmly discussing making her  
his mate. "It would be platonic - a bond of blood only - because of   
the curse."  
  
"Do we do it now?" Willow stared at her hands in her lap. She didn't   
dare look at Angel. She was going to be his mate! Buffy was going to  
hate her. But it was her only option. She couldn't lose control of  
her demon and hurt someone.  
  
"It would be best while my blood is still fresh inside you." Angel  
turned toward Willow. He tilted her chin up to see her face. He had  
to know her true reaction to what he was proposing and Willow's eyes  
didn't lie. "Do I have your permission?"  
  
Willow didn't trust herself to speak. It would only degenerate into an  
embarrassing babble. She nodded. Angel's fingers stroked the soft  
skin under her chin. He leaned closer to her and pressed a simple,  
gentle kiss to her lips. Willow let her eyes drift close and   
unconsciously tipped her head, revealing her neck in invitation.   
Angel's lips strayed downward, stopping at her jugular. It tickled and  
she tingled all over. Her heart rate and breathing picked up in  
anticipation as he suckled a piece of her flesh. Her breath caught  
when his fangs pierced her skin and she reached out and clutched his  
thigh.  
  
Sweet, warm blood flowed over Angel's tongue and down his throat. He  
felt Willow's hand squeeze his thigh. The scent of her arousal   
perfumed the air prompting a rumbling growl deep in Angel's throat.  
Willow whimpered and leaned into him, her other hand embedding itself  
in his hair to press him closer. He had to stop, he had taken enough  
to establish the blood bond and if he continued then the increasingly  
painful needs of his body would make him complete the entire mating  
ritual. If that happened, his soul would be history. Reluctantly,  
Angel withdrew his fangs. He licked at the wound until the blood   
clotted and stopped.  
  
For a minute, everything was still. Neither of them moved or spoke.  
Willow even held her breath. The only sound heard was the soft thump  
of her heart. Finally, Angel lifted his head to gauge Willow's   
feelings about what had just happened. Her eyes were still closed and  
she was smiling slightly.   
  
"You're wiped out. You still need sleep." Angel brushed a kiss to  
Willow's forehead and laid her back into the bed. Before she could  
protest, he added, "I"ll stay." He tucked the covers around her and  
laid down on top of them. Willow snuggled into his embrace.  
  
"Night, Angel. Thank you." Willow smiled into his chest. This was  
right. The only wrong thing about it was that it felt unfinished.  
  
*****  
  
The Hyperion was quiet when Cordelia unlocked the front door and walked  
in. She was used to it since she was usually the first one here in   
the morning and Angel was always still sleeping before noon. She   
locked the door again, not wanting her quiet time interrupted before   
it was time to open for business. Cordelia moved around the office,   
making sure that things were set up - the business cards out, the   
coffee made, fresh doughnuts - before she ventured upstairs. She   
wanted to check on Willow, find out how her conversation with the   
Sunnydale crew had went and offer her support if it was needed.  
  
"Morning, Will...." Cordelia lost her voice at the sight of two of her  
best friends wrapped up in each others arms in bed. They both looked  
so at peace and Angel still had his pants on and was on top of the   
covers, so Cordelia just smiled and backed out of the room. They could  
probably use the sleep.  
  
As Cordelia softly shut the door and turned to tiptoe back down the  
hallway, a blinding pain made her stumble into the wall. She clutched  
her head as disjointed images joined the agony. People in a club  
dancing. An amorous couple making their way out into a darkened alley.  
Two women approaching and attacking them. Willow in demon face, blood  
staining her lips.  
  
"No!" Cordelia screamed as she sank to the floor.  
  
"Cordelia?" She heard Willow's worried voice. "Angel, what's wrong?"  
  
"She had a vision." Strong arms picked her up and carried her   
downstairs and set her on the couch. "Cordelia, what did you see?"  
  
"Darla...Drusilla...outside in an alley behind some club. They're  
attacking a couple." Cordelia opened her eyes. Willow and Angel   
hovered over her. "I also saw Willow in vamp mode with blood on her  
face."  
  
"Was I in the alley too?" Willow asked with an academic detachment.   
She wasn't too scared about the contents of Cordelia's vision. There  
could be lots of reasons why she would be in bloody vamp-face.   
Besides, Cordelia was given these visions so that Angel could prevent   
what she saw. "Was I with Darla and Drusilla? And by the way, didn't  
you dust Darla years ago?"  
  
"Wolfram and Hart brought her back human, Drusilla re-vamped her, Angel  
had some issues with it, but he's okay now," Cordelia brought Willow  
up to speed and she sat up on the couch. "I don't know where you were,  
I just saw your face. Wesley and Gunn should be in soon. We need to  
find this club. It was dark and gothic, everyone was dressed in   
leather. There was this weird black light glass chandelier that spread  
out over most of the ceiling. It had those fibre optic needles."  
  
"The Spider Web." Willow smiled at Angel and Cordelia's stunned looks.  
"Buffy and I checked it out one weekend when she and Dawn came to visit  
their father. It's cool, but there was a lot of vampires."  
  
"Wonderful. Willow Rosenberg has more of a nightlife than I do."  
Cordelia shook her head as much as she could without inducing more   
skull-cracking pain. "I'm officially pathetic."  
  
Willow saw Cordelia wince as she tried to laugh instead of hurt. On  
impulse she reached out and touched her friend's forehead. "Laxo   
doleo. Animadverto piaculum absque iniuria." An orange glow flared   
briefly and died away.  
  
"The pain is gone." Cordelia touched her head. She could think   
clearly. Could see the details of the vision without the hazy fog of  
a thudding headache. "Willow, what did you do?"  
  
"I released you from your currant pain and then I bound the pain from  
your visions. You shouldn't suffer any more when you have them."   
Willow sat down wearily beside Cordelia. The spell had taken more out  
of her than they usually did, probably because she hadn't cast in a  
while. "I didn't know if I could do it. I didn't know if my magic  
would still work, I haven't done anything since the teleportation spell  
I can't remember using to get here."  
  
"Well, it works great." Cordelia hugged Willow. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome." Willow returned the hug and then realized that she  
was still in her nightie. She didn't want Gunn and Wesley to see her  
in this state and if Angel's soft snarl was his reaction to her hugging  
Cordelia, he wouldn't want them to see her half dressed either. They  
also had company coming that Angel didn't know about. Willow stood up.  
"I better get dressed, my contact in the Kalderash clan is supposed  
to meet me this afternoon."  
  
"A Kalderash is coming here?" Angel felt the familiar guilt well  
inside of him, but he also felt anger and fear. He wasn't sure of what  
the gypsies would do to Willow once they found out that she was his  
mate. He wasn't sure of what he would do if they hurt her. Already,  
he was incredibly possessive of Willow. He hadn't even liked the hug  
she had shared with Cordelia.  
  
"Yes. I didn't think you would let me meet her alone. She's bringing  
everything she knows about the soul restoration ritual and Xander's  
emailing me everything I have about it on my laptop to your business  
email." Willow gave Angel a bright smile. "Hey, maybe, we'll even   
find something to make that soul of yours a permanent fixture."  
  
Cordelia waited until Willow went back upstairs before saying anything.  
"That would be a good thing, especially if you plan on spending any  
more nights in the same bed. So, what's with the mutual bloody  
hickeys?" She pointed at Angel's collarbone.  
  
"The demon took control when Willow fell asleep last night. We had  
kind of a...confrontation... and she bit me." Angel sat down beside  
Cordelia. Confiding in her had become a natural habit for him lately.   
He knew that she would set him straight without hesitation if she   
needed to. "After Willow woke up and regained control, she was afraid  
it would happen again. I suggested that I claim her as my mate   
because it would give me some control over her demon. It was just   
consummated in blood by biting, not sexually."  
  
"Obviously, because you're not evil. But you wanted to, didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah. I still do." Angel was relieved by his confession and   
Cordelia's acceptance of it, at least he thought she accepted it, she  
hadn't slapped him upside the head and called him a dumb ass. "Her  
demon gave me some clues to the identity of the person who sent her  
after Willow. The demon said that Willow had taken her love away, so  
the girl traveled back in time and to the demon's dimension to find   
her. The demon said she wouldn't like Willow and I being together."  
  
"Did Willow have any ideas on who this time traveling revenge freak   
is?"  
  
"I didn't tell her and she doesn't remember anything the demon said to  
me." Angel paused. He had been mulling it over in the back of his  
mind ever since the demon had told him to guess. It made sense. Who  
else wouldn't want to see him with Willow? Who else knew about   
Vampire Willow and her dimension? "I think it's Buffy."  
  
A knock at the door interrupted any verbal response Cordelia could  
give so she raised a shocked eyebrow instead. She put a hand on   
Angel's arm as he started to stand. "Let me get it. It's probably  
Willow's gypsy friend and I hardly doubt a flaming vampire will inspire  
her to help us out." Cordelia walked over to the door and unlocked it.  
She was so busy processing her shock over Angel's suggestion that it  
took her a moment to really see who was standing in front of her once  
she opened the door. "Speak of the devil. Buffy, imagine you   
knocking."  
  
"It was locked." Buffy walked past Cordelia into the hotel. She  
looked around curiously before settling her gaze on a shirtless Angel.  
A quick, suspicious glare flickered in Cordelia's direction before she  
smiled at Angel. "Hello, Angel. Where's Willow?"  
  
For his part, Angel was more interested in the girl who followed Buffy  
into his home. He didn't like her and from the cold look she gave   
him, she returned the feeling. "She's upstairs. I'm Angel," he  
introduced himself to the newcomer, but didn't offer his hand or   
stand up. "And this is Cordelia."  
  
"Nice to meet you. I'm Willow's girlfriend, Tara."  
  
To be continued.... 


	5. Chapter Five

Part Five  
  
Her mate. The words were scary and wonderful. Especially when they  
applied to Angel. Never in her wildest dreams had Willow ever thought  
Angel would be her mate. It was strictly platonic, of course, no sex  
allowed. Willow stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around  
her hair and slipped into her robe. But the 'no sex' was only because  
of the curse, that was what Angel had said. That meant if it wasn't  
for the curse, than Angel would want to....Bad Willow! Willow shook  
her head to rid herself of naughty thoughts. Angel was her best  
friend's ex-boyfriend - the ultimate love of her life - he wasn't   
supposed to be thought of that way. Besides, she liked girls. She   
had a girlfriend. Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask about nullifying the  
clause to Angel's curse.  
  
"It's not like I'd be asking for myself," Willow muttered as she   
walked out of the bathroom that was connected to her room. Living in   
an old hotel had perks. She rubbed at her wet hair with the towel.   
"He deserves happiness."  
  
"Why?" Angel's question startled Willow. She gave a little shriek and  
dropped her towel. Angel bent down to pick up the damp cloth. "Why  
would I deserve happiness after everything I've done." He couldn't   
look at her, so he looked at the navy towel instead. It smelled like  
her - raspberries and chocolate ice cream. His mate - sweet and tart.  
  
Willow frowned at Angel. She stepped forward and touched his cheek to  
make him look at her. "You're not still doing that, are you, Angel?   
I thought you had let go of some of the guilt working here with   
Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, and Fred."  
  
"I can't ever let go of the guilt."  
  
"Oh, Angel." Willow stepped even closer. She took the towel he was  
twisting in his hands and tossed it into the corner. Her thumb   
brushed along his jaw line as she brought her other hand to rest over   
his inanimate heart. "You are the bravest, most unselfish person I  
know. When you were given your soul, you could have let the guilt   
drive you insane or to suicide, but you didn't. I'll admit that you  
wallowed in it for a while." She smiled up at him. "But then you   
chose to help people, Angel, to make a difference in the world."  
  
"Whistler...." Angel started to protest. He almost smiled at the way  
her eyes sparked when he spoke.  
  
"Gave you an option, but you were the one who chose it," Willow   
interrupted stubbornly. It was an argument he couldn't win, her   
mutinous expression told him so, but he really didn't want to win it.  
Angel liked who he was in Willow's eyes. He leaned forward, intending  
to kiss the unyielding line of her lips into more pliable curves.  
  
"Willow." Tara stood in the bedroom doorway.  
  
A sense of smug satisfaction settled over Angel when Willow didn't pull  
away from him. The corners of his mouth lifted in a languid smile.  
"Oh, right. The reason I came into your room was to tell you that  
Buffy and your...friend are here."  
  
"Girlfriend," Tara corrected. She glared at Angel as she walked into  
the room. "I thought you came upstairs to get a shirt."  
  
"That too." Angel met Tara's glare with a bland look. It was actually  
a good thing that they had been interrupted before he had kissed  
Willow. He hadn't been thinking. Kissing Willow at that moment would  
have been too perfect. It would have made him too happy. It probably   
was a good idea to ask about getting rid of the clause, even   
though he didn't really deserve it. Or Willow.  
  
"I should get dressed." Willow stepped back from Angel, dropping her  
hands from his face and chest. Belatedly, she blushed. And felt a  
twinge of guilt, but not about Angel. She felt guilty about her   
relationship with Tara. "You two should leave the room so I can do   
that."  
  
Neither Angel nor Tara made a move to comply with Willow's request.  
Tara gaped at her girlfriend in open mouthed shock. "Willow, it's not  
like I haven't seen you get dressed before."  
  
"I know." Willow shuffled awkwardly. She knew from the growly   
vibrations rumbling quietly from Angel that he would not leave while  
Tara was still in the room. "Things are different now. I told you   
that last night over the phone when I also said I needed some time  
alone to think about what I'm going to do."  
  
"You're not alone," Tara accused her sharply. If it was possible, her  
glare intensified. "You're with him."  
  
Willow sighed. "Please, Tara, go downstairs and wait with Buffy. I'll  
get dressed and then we'll sit down and talk."  
  
"I'll go put on that shirt." Angel walked to the door. He paused and  
stood to the side, making a sweeping gesture with his hand. "After  
you," he said firmly to Tara.   
  
*****  
  
It was lucky that Cordelia Chase had grown as a person, because if she  
hadn't then Buffy would have found herself waiting in the walk-in   
freezer of their industrial kitchen instead of the lobby. At first,  
it had just been awkward trying to make small talk with Buffy and Tara.  
They had chatted about slaying, witchcraft, demons, visions, demons,  
Cordy's acting career, and more demons. Then Gunn and Wesley had  
shown up and Tara had slipped away upstairs. Poor Willow, she was  
caught between an insanely jealous girlfriend and an insanely possessive  
vampire. But Cordelia couldn't worry about Willow's troubles at the  
moment. Buffy was flirting with Gunn!  
  
"Wow. You organized your own vampire/demon hunting gang. That's  
impressive, Gunn." Buffy smiled widely and actually batted her   
eyelashes. Gunn smiled back and shrugged in that 'aw, shucks, I'm   
just a guy' way males did when trying to be modest. Cordelia gritted  
her teeth. She knew Buffy was doing it to get back at her for all  
those times she had thrown herself at Angel in highschool and for the  
fact that now she was closer to Angel than Buffy was. She also   
knew that Buffy was hoping that Angel would catch her being  
'interested' in another guy and get jealous. At least she would be   
front row center for Buffy's reaction to the news that Willow was  
Angel's mate.  
  
Fortunately, Cordelia wouldn't have to wait long. She sat up   
straighter as someone clomped down the stairs, but it was just Tara.  
She slumped in a chair. "Willow is getting dressed. She'll be down   
in a few minutes." Tara looked up at them briefly before returning to  
stare morosely at her lap.  
  
"Oh, that's okay." Buffy placed a hand on Gunn's arm. "I've been   
talking with Gunn." She glanced at Cordelia, who gave her a tight   
smile.  
  
A few minutes. Cordelia could live through a few more minutes with  
the slutty slayer and sulking wiccan. She looked up at the staircase.  
What the hell was taking Willow and Angel so damn long?  
  
*****  
  
Madness. That was the only explanation for why he was standing in  
front of Willow's bedroom door. Why he was knocking. Especially after  
the close call with the kiss. Angel finished buttoning his dark green  
shirt as he waited for Willow to answer. The words just kept running  
through his head, 'it's not like I haven't seen you get dressed   
before.' He kept hearing them and they kept bugging him. Willow was  
his mate.  
  
"Angel?" Willow peeked around her door. "Is everything okay?"  
  
"Yeah. Fine." Angel leaned against the door frame. He picked at the  
flaking paint on the wood. "Something just occurred to me."  
  
"Are you going to share?" Willow grinned playfully. Angel looked like  
a little boy about to invite a girl into his secret fort.  
  
"I've never seen you get dressed."   
  
He didn't sound like a little boy. Angel's tone was low and sexy. It  
sent tingling, shivery sensations throughout Willow's body. She should  
slam the door in his face. Her girlfriend and his ex-girlfriend who  
happened to be her best friend were downstairs. She opened the door  
wider to let him into the room.  
  
Seeing Willow in only her black underwear, it dawned on Angel what was  
happening. He had been a fool to believe that he could make Willow   
his platonic mate. He had always been drawn to her, even when he had  
lived in Sunnydale. Then it had been her innocence and the purity that  
radiated from her. He had wanted to protect that so badly and he had  
failed because he couldn't protect her and be around Buffy at the same  
time, so he had left. Now her purity was contaminated by the demon  
inside her and he found her even more irresistible. As he admired the  
ivory whiteness of Willow's skin, he felt an overwhelming compulsion   
to complete the mating ritual. A compulsion he was going to resist.  
Angel sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
She and Angel were going to have sex. Not at the moment, she was   
getting dressed - not undressed - after all and there was that stupid  
clause. But they were working up to it. Willow pulled on the hunter  
green leather pants she and Cordelia had bought on their shopping  
spree. She felt strangely calm, not her usual babbling bundle of   
nerves. Next she slipped on the burnt orange tank top, pulling it  
over her head and smoothing the silky material over her curves. She   
concentrated on taking deep, even breaths. "All done." She turned a  
bit to face Angel. His eyes were dark and Willow wanted nothing more  
than to take her clothes off and jump him. She held out her hand  
instead. "Let's go downstairs."  
  
*****  
  
Restless anticipation quivered through every nerve of Darla's body.  
They had arrived in Los Angeles the night before and the waiting was  
getting to her. She lounged in the loveseat of their expensive hotel  
suite, thinking about what she was going to do when she was finally  
reunited with her boy. Drusilla sat in front of the television  
trying to snatch the actors from behind the glass. She would giggle  
and growl like a kitten at her failure to capture them.  
  
"Pretty people made of light. Make me hungry. Grrruuff." Dru snapped  
her teeth together.  
  
Darla suppressed the urge to smash the end table and stake the looney  
bitch. She had never understood Angelus' amusement with his childe's  
insanity. She did understand her usefulness though - Drusilla's  
visions would keep them a step ahead of Angel - but she couldn't stand  
the demented rambling and deranged behavior of the vampiress. "How  
long are we going to be stuck in this room?"  
  
"Patience, Grandmother Daughter." Dru emphasized the daughter part of  
the title she had bestowed upon Darla. Her dark eyes slid over to the  
blonde vampire. Darla didn't like the sly light in them. "We leave  
when I say. Now I would like to take a lovely bath. Hot, with   
bubbles."   
  
At first, Darla didn't move. She was the elder, so what if she had  
been dead for a few years and then alive with a soul for almost another  
one? But it did matter. Drusilla was her Sire. Right after Darla  
had been turned, Dru had automatically assumed her role as the childe,  
but now she seemed to realize the power she held over Darla. And she  
was using it. The loathed servile need to please her Sire pushed   
Darla to her feet and into the bathroom to do as Dru asked. It was a  
temporary response, eventually she would be able to overcome it. Even  
Spike had finally torn himself from Dru's grasp, although falling in  
love with the slayer was hardly a step up.  
  
"Is it ready?" Dru asked, stepping into the bathroom.  
  
"Almost." Darla poured some bubble bath under the running water. The  
steam of the hot water intensified the pungent smell of lilacs. When   
she did conquer the Sire/Child control, Dru would pay for this and   
they would both enjoy it. That was one thing Angelus had always done  
right - teaching his childer to enjoy pain.  
  
Drusilla touched Darla's cheek. "Don't be angry, Grandmother Daughter.  
Tonight we meet my new Mummy. The spiders told me we would when they  
invited us to go dancing with them."  
  
"Fine." Darla smiled. Finally, she would be seeing her boy again and  
the mystery woman who had captured his dead heart. "What about the  
spell? The one that enables Angel to father children?"  
  
"There's a witch." Dru let her dress fall in a pool at her feet. She  
stepped into the tub filled with flagrant bubbles. Her head lolled   
back against the cool porcelain and she closed her eyes. "She hates  
Daddy and thinks the spell will destroy him."  
  
"Why doesn't it?" Darla trailed her fingers in the hot water.  
  
"His soul." Dru smiled. "Jonathan for my brother and Isabelle for  
my sister. I'll be a good big sister. I'll bring candy and dolls and  
dead puppies for them to play with. I promise not to bite."  
  
"I won't be making that promise." Darla stood up and walked out of  
the bathroom. She would suffer the presence of Angel's new consort  
until the birth of the first brat. Then it would be bye-bye Mommy  
Dearest. Permanently.  
  
*****  
  
It wasn't going well. It didn't start well and it definitely was not  
going to end well. Cordelia sat back and observed her friends, Buffy  
and Tara. Wesley and Gunn were, for the most part, confused about the  
undercurrents flowing dangerously through the room, so she didn't pay   
too much attention to them.  
  
Things had started badly when Willow and Angel had come downstairs  
holding hands and got worse when Angel hadn't ripped Gunn's head off  
in a jealous rage over Buffy's affections. The tension factor had been  
upped when Tara had pulled Willow down to sit next to her, forcing  
Angel to take the remaining seat next to Buffy. Given the fact that  
Buffy was pouting over Angel's lack of reaction to her, Angel was   
glowering over the fact that Willow was not at his side, Tara was  
desperately trying to get Willow's attention, and Willow was studiously  
ignoring Tara, it was a wonder that they had been able to begin   
discussing Willow's situation civilly. It hadn't lasted long.  
  
"I think you should come back to Sunnydale with us," Tara suggested.  
  
"No!" Willow and Angel protested at the same time. Willow continued  
with their objection, "I can't control the demon properly. Angel is  
helping me do that and Wesley and the others are helping me research  
ways to expel the demon - if we can."  
  
"We can do that in Sunnydale and Spike can help you control the demon."  
Buffy gave Angel a sidelong glance. "Spike will do anything for me."  
She was obviously thrilled by Angel's low growl, not realizing that it  
was prompted by the thought of Spike being near Willow, not her.  
  
"No, Spike wouldn't understand what Willow is going through. He  
doesn't have a soul." Angel looked at Wesley. He hadn't voiced his  
thoughts from the night before to anyone and Wesley would probably be  
the best person to understand it. Well, Willow would understand, but  
he couldn't look at her while she was sitting beside her...friend.  
"When Willow performed the restoration ritual, it restored the demon  
of her doppleganger inside her like it restored my soul to my body.  
It's the curse that ties my soul to me....."  
  
Wesley nodded with enthusiasm and cut in, "And it's the curse that ties  
the demon to Willow."  
  
"Then the solution is simple," Tara announced. She looked triumphant  
and satisfied. "Willow told me there was a clause to your curse, that  
complete happiness took your soul away." At everyone's nod and Buffy's  
slightly guilty look, Tara beamed. She turned to face Willow, her  
hand moving to rest intimately on her lover's thigh. "Complete   
happiness should take the demon away. It's worth a shot for us to try  
it."  
  
White, blinding rage engulfed Angel. His ridges sprang across his  
face and his demon eyesight brought the hand on Willow's thigh into  
sharp focus. She was touching his mate! The violation was made even  
more abhorrent by the fact that he had not yet claimed Willow in that  
way. Angel snarled and jumped up.  
  
"Angel!" Willow bolted to her feet as well. She met him in the middle  
of their ring of friends. "Angel, it's okay."  
  
"She touched you," Angel growled, glaring at Tara from over Willow's  
shoulder. "Mine."  
  
"Yes, I'm yours. It's not going to happen again." Willow tugged on  
Angel's arm. "I'm hungry, let's go into the kitchen. Now, Angel."  
Willow forcefully dragged Angel out of the room.  
  
"I wouldn't follow them," Cordelia cautioned Tara and Buffy when they  
started to rise. "They drink blood when they're hungry." Buffy sat  
down hastily. Tara was a bit more reluctant until Cordelia added, "I  
think Angel is itching to taste yours."   
  
"What was that about?" Buffy looked suspiciously at Cordelia, like   
she had been responsible for Angel ignoring her in favor of her best  
friend.  
  
Oh, Goody. She didn't get to just watch, she got to tell. Cordelia  
shrugged casually, but watched Buffy like a hawk. "I guess Angel is  
just possessive. It's one of those mating issues that they will have  
to work out." She had been wrong. This did end well.  
  
To be continued..... 


	6. Chapter Six

Part Six  
  
The silence that followed her announcement was perfect gloating   
atmoshpere and Cordelia took full advantage of it. She sat back with a  
smirk and an arch of her eyebrow. She paid no attention to Wesley's  
disapproving frown - he was an ex-watcher and therefore was biased   
toward slayers.   
  
"How...Why?" Buffy glanced at the kitchen. She should be angry. She  
should be mad as hell that her best friend and her ex-boyfriend were  
shacking up, but she wasn't. Angel was a vampire. Willow was sort of  
a vampire. She was a vampire slayer. Two people in her life that she  
loved and were important to her adn her instinct would be to kill them.  
She had felt it the moment she had seen Willow. Her fingers had itched  
for a stake and her muscles had tensed in anticipation of an attack.  
She had tried to deny what it was, tried to tell herself that she felt  
that way because Willow was holding hands with Angel, but it wasn't.  
On the way to L. A., she had convinced herself that the best place for  
Willow was back in Sunnydale with her friends and that nothing would  
change between them.   
  
The striken look on Buffy's face was making Cordelia feel guilty. Her  
smirk was replaced with a frown. Buffy was supposed to be acting like  
a selfish, spoiled child - stomping around and demanding Willow's best  
friend loyalty and Angel's eternal soulmate devotion in a tantrum of  
love - she wasn't supposed to be so sad. Leave it to her blond nemisis  
to take the fun out of everything by growing as a person too. "Willow  
was having trouble controlling the demon and Angel suggested a blood  
bond so he could control the demon. It's some sort of sick vampire  
thing where Angel's the elder vamp so he's stronger, but since he's not  
her sire, he could only be in control by becoming her mate. They're  
not 'mating' though, it's just a blood thing. No sex because of the  
curse."  
  
Buffy nodded. If there was no sex because of the curse then that meant  
Angel's heart was involved. She didn't have to ask the question - she  
knew the answer - but she needed to hear it out loud. She needed   
someone else to confirm what she already knew. "Are they in love?"  
  
It should have given Cordelia great pleasure to answer Buffy's question  
given her earlier behavior toward Gunn, but it didn't. One more thing  
Buffy had ruined in her life. "They're in a serious like phase right  
now," she told them delicately. She heard Gunn's snort, but ignored  
it. The physical attraction between Angel and Willow was intense so to  
say that they liked one another was pretty lame, but Cordelia wasn't  
sure it was love yet either. It was certainly heading that way though.  
  
"No!" Tara picked up the lamp on the endtable next to her and smashed  
it to the floor. "Willow loves me! She loves me, not him. She will  
never love him." She ran toward the kitchen. "Willow."  
  
"Tara!" Buffy jumped up and followed her. She had never seen Tara   
like this before. Willow's girlfriend had always been so shy and   
hesitant, but that had changed once Willow had called them. She   
totally lost control. She had insisted that they drive to L. A. and  
since Buffy had wanted Willow back home too, she had agreed. It had  
surprised her when Xander had tried to stop them and convince them it  
was a mistake. With Angel's involvement, she had expected Xander to be  
the first one in the car. She was going to have to start listening to  
Xander, his instinct had been right about this trip. It was nothing  
but trouble. "Tara, calm down." Buffy stopped behind the blond witch.  
They had walked in on something she had never wanted to see. Over  
Tara's shoulder, Buffy saw Willow and Angel. She felt Cordelia,   
Wesley, and Gunn come up behind her. She couldn't move.  
  
The back of Angel's dark head was bent into Willow's neck and he had   
her pinned up against the metal door to the walk-in freezer. Buffy   
didn't have to see his face to know it was his vampire one. She lifted  
her hand and unconsciously touched the scar at her throat. She felt   
the ghost of ridges pressed into her skin, the fangs tearing her flesh,  
the growling in her ear, and the horrible slurping as her blood flowed  
into Angel's mouth. She remembered the pain, the incredible mind   
dazzling pain. Willow didn't look like she was in pain. Her eyes were  
closed and her head thrown back with one hand in Angel's hair, holding  
him close. buffy couldn't look away. As she watched, ridges formed  
on Willow's face and fangs glistened in her open mouth. She opend her  
eyes, her golden gaze meeting Buffy's.  
  
"Willow," Tara hissed between clenched teeth. "What are you doing?"  
  
Willow's features snapped back to human and she nudged Angel away from  
her. "Angel." She blushed a bright red and ducked her head,   
sheltering herself from Tara and Buffy with Angel's broad shoulders.  
As she looked down, she belatedly realized where her other hand was and  
snatched it from Angel's crotch. He gave a strangled groan and rested  
his forehead on the cool metal above Willow.  
  
"Uh, sorry to, uh, interrupt." Cordelia shifted uncomfortably. She  
actually blushed because of the sexual energy saturating the air. She  
had no idea how Willow and Angel were going to explain this to Buffy   
and Tara, there really was only one explanation. "I told Buffy and  
Tara about the whole mating thing adn the rest of us will leave now so  
you four can discuss." Cordelia turned and walked out of the kitchen.  
When Wesley and Gunn didn't follow her, she turned back and pushed them  
out.  
  
This was the most mortifying moment of her life. When Willow had  
dragged Angel into the kitchen, she had intended to calm him down with  
words, but had soon realized that there was only one thing that would  
mollify him. Actions meant more to vampires than words. Willow had to  
show Angel that she was his mate. She had bared her neck to him and he  
had bitten her without hesitation - he had been that out of control.  
Unfortunately, Willow had lost control as soon as his fangs pierced her  
flesh. She had felt an overwhelming desire to possess him. She   
couldn't stop herself from unzipping his fly and caressing his hard  
cock. Buffy and Tara had left her mind completely.   
  
"Willow?" Tara's voice was still demanding but it was more tearful.  
  
"I have to talk to her," Willow said softly. She felt Angel step back  
a bit so she looked up at him. He looked a little stunned. Willow  
smiled and touched his cheek. "I'll be back. We're just going to go   
for a walk."  
  
"No." Angel caught Willow's hand as she tried to slip around him. He  
was still trying to process everything that had happened. He had been  
jealous of Willow's girlfriend and her claim on Willow and had just let  
his demon take control. He hadn't even tried to squelch his basest   
urges. He didn't know what he would do if Willow left the hotel.   
"Please."  
  
"We'll go out inot the courtyard then." Willow squeezed Angel's hand.  
"You can see us from the window. I need to talk to her alone."  
  
"I know." Angel grimaced and reluctantly let go of Willow's hand. He  
ran his hand through his hair as she left with her girlfriend. He and  
Buffy were left alone in the kitchen.  
  
"So...you made my best friend your mate and I didn't even get an  
invitation." Buffy tried to smile, but it didn't really work.   
  
"I'm sorry you found out this way, Buffy." Angel sighed. He didn't   
have the energy to feel guilty about hurting Buffy. She was a love he  
had to let go, but with Willow he had a chance to love someone who   
truly understood him. He wasn't sure if he loved Willow yet, but there  
was certainly something between them.  
  
"You're not sorry you did it though." This time Buffy did smile,   
although it was a sad smile. It was really over. The tragic love saga  
of the vampire and the slayer was over. "Can you tell Tara that I'll  
be at our hotel."  
  
"Sure." Angel was a bit surprised at Buffy's quiet acceptance of   
things, but he was thankful for it. Buffy's mention of Tara made him  
realize that he wasn't where he could see Willow. Angel quickly left  
the kitchen for the lobby. Willow was sitting on a bench in the   
courtyard. She was beautiful in the sunlight.  
  
"Angel." Buffy came up behind him. "I can't help Willow, but she's  
still my best friend and I love her. Will you tell her that for me,  
please? And promise that you'll take care of her."  
  
"I promise." Angel heard the door close as Buffy left. His demon  
hadn't stopped growling since Willow had left with Tara. The blood  
bond of the mating ritual had allowed him to establish control over her  
demon, unfortunately keeping things platonic was making him lose   
control over his. It was going to be a problem.  
  
*****  
  
Willow could feel Angel watching her. She straightened, preening under  
his attention, the heat from his gaze making the sun insignificant. She  
almost wished she could pass off her reaction as the demon's, but the  
woman in her liked it too. Willow pulled her awareness from the  
vampire in the hotel and focused on Tara. She was supposed to be   
apologizing to her ex-girlfriend. Neither of them had said a thing  
since they had left the others.  
  
"I knew this would happen." Tara finally broke the silence. She  
wouldn't look at Willow, she kept her eyes trained on the stone walk  
beneath her feet. "I thought it would be Oz. Or maybe Xander. You  
never even talked about HIM unless you were reminiscing about the old  
days with Buffy."  
  
"This isn't about being straight or gay, Tara. Things have changed."  
Willow hadn't realized how much until she had seen Tara again. It was  
like it had been years since they had been involved. She still loved  
Tara, but the feeling was so distant. "I'm some sort of weird vampire  
hybrid. Angel can help me understand things...."  
  
Tara interrupted her with a derisive laugh. "Is that what he's doing?  
What did he help you understand in the kitchen? That vampires like to  
be jacked off while sucking blood?"  
  
"Bloodlust is a part of being a vampire and sex is tied to it." Willow  
bit back a growl of frustration. A hint of blood mingled with her  
saliva as she chewed on the plump flesh of her lip. There was only one  
way Tara would finally understand. Willow turned to her former   
girlfriend and took her hand. She steeled herself against the sudden  
hope that shone in Tara's face. She also ignored Angel's blistering  
glare as she caressed Tara's palm with her thumb. She traced the   
delicate veins of her ex-lover's wrist. "I can feel your blood pulsing  
under your skin. I want to taste it."  
  
"You can't scare me away. I love you, Willow." Tara stroked Willow's  
hair and smiled.  
  
The words were said bravely, but Willow could still see her fear. She   
could smell it and a part of her wanted to exploit it to its fullest   
and break the girl who gazed at her with such love and longing. "I   
love you too." Willow reached up and cupped Tara's cheek. She didn't   
want to do this, but it was necessary. She was going to indulge that  
other part of her and hope that she could stop herself before she   
demolished Tara's heart. "I want to make love to you right now. I  
want to drink from you when you climax. Would you like it when I bite  
you? Could you stop me from doing it? I doubt it." Willow gripped  
Tara's chin to make her point. "You should have stayed in Sunnydale  
like I asked. We can't be together anymore."  
  
"You would never hurt me." Tara smiled and took Willow's hand from her  
face. She squeezed it. "I know that and I trust you."  
  
"How can you when I don't trust myself?" Willow tore her hand away  
and stood up. "I know you love me, but don't be stupid, Tara. I don't  
want to hurt you any more than I already have. I don't want to kill  
you."  
  
"This isn't about killing me." Tara stood up as well. She scowled.  
"It's still about Him. You're afraid you'll hurt me because you won't   
be able to stay away from him." Tara waited for Willow to confirm her  
accusation and when there was no answer, she took that to mean she was  
right. It was over. Her relationship with Willow - the best thing in  
her life because it had helped her accept herself - was finished. "Do  
you love him?"  
  
"I don't know. I don't think so." Willow glanced over to the hotel.  
She couldn't see Angel through the dark window, only the ghost-like  
reflections of the bushes and flowers in the glass, but she still felt  
like she was meeting his gaze. It was steadying. Instead of growling,  
the demon inside her purred. "Everything has been so confused, but  
Angel's made it better. I can accept myself like this because he's  
made it okay somehow. I don't love him, but I could and it would work.  
I have a future with Angel." Willow turned and looked at Tara, the  
fact that she didn't have a future with the other girl went unspoken,  
but it was finally understood. She was sorry for Tara's tears and   
pain and didn't stop her when she ran from the hotel's courtyard. She  
was sad too, but couldn't help the thrill of pleasure as she thought of  
Angel.   
  
"Excuse me," a woman a bit older than Willow entered the courtyard and  
smiled hesitantly. With her dark hair and eyes, Willow immediately  
thought of Jenny Calendar and knew that this woman was a Kalderash.  
"I'm Astrid Carmichael, I'm supposed to meet a Willow Rosenberg at this  
address."  
  
"That's me." Willow shook the other woman's hand. "Thanks for coming.  
Angel and I really need your help."  
  
"I'm always happy to help." Astrid smiled and followed Willow to the  
hotel. She was curious about the vampire her family had cursed. "I've  
brought everything my family has about the curse and I think I know  
how to modify it."  
  
*****  
  
The store was dingy and creepy. It reeked of sandalwood and exotic  
spices. It was everything an occult shop was supposed to be. Darla  
flipped through a dusty old book about torture techniques. It was  
boring, she was familiar with some of them and had invented the rest.  
It might make a nice gift for Angel though - bring back fond memories.  
  
"She'll be here soon," Dru whispered in Darla's ear. She had crept up  
behind her childe and pouted when Darla didn't react to her little  
surprise. "Why don't you believe me, Grandmother Daughter? Don't you  
trust me?"  
  
"Of course I believe you, Dru." Darla closed the book and caressed  
Dru's cheek with her fingernail. It had been her suggestion that they  
take the sewers to the vampire friendly occult shop with the   
underground entrance. It had been encouraging when Dru had followed  
along without question like she used to - the insane vampiress tended   
to forget she had the control which would make it that much easier to  
break her sire bond. "I just want to watch the wheels in motion. You  
are sure that this spell won't destroy Angelus?"  
  
"It might sting a little." Dru looked up with anticipation as the bell  
above the front door jangled, announcing a customer. A young girl   
headed straight for the sales counter without browsing. She dashed a  
few lingering tears from her eyes. Dru clapped happily. "That's her,"  
she said with an excited whisper.  
  
"Hello," Tara called out. She glanced nervously at the two other   
people in the store. The brunette smiled, but it didn't reach her   
empty eyes. The blonde just smirked as she pulled the other woman   
further down the aisle. Tara shivered and turned back as the shop  
keeper emerged from the store room. "I need a spell to destroy a   
vampire."  
  
"That's a powerful and dangerous spell." The man ducked under the   
counter and retrieved a small spell book. "Expensive too."  
  
Tara set a credit card down on the counter. "I don't care. He's   
seduced someone I love with his vampire tricks and I have to save her."  
  
Dru giggled softly at the witch's announcement. "Mommy doesn't want to  
be saved, silly witch. She and Daddy are happy."  
  
"Yeah, well, they should enjoy it while it lasts. Once my boy is back,  
he's mine." Darla smiled as she imagined all the things she would do  
to make Angelus forget the mother of his future child. She didn't   
notice Dru's frown or the small dagger she pilfered from the store as  
they left.  
  
To be continued.... 


End file.
